Chavez To Reform State Oil Company

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - Caribbean & Latin America

December 9, 1998

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's huge state oil company is feeling the wrath of Hurricane Hugo. President-elect Hugo Chavez, in stinging remarks since his triumph on Sunday, has pledged to dump the chief of Petroleos de Venezuela, audit its books and take more of its profits for social spending. Chavez promised to bring the 54,000-employee company under the thumb of the central government.

POLICE SAY PAPERS FAKED CASH HOARD BY CARDOSO

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Police have concluded that documents purportedly showing that President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and three close allies stashed millions of dollars in an overseas account are fake, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The so-called ``Cayman Dossier,'' which was leaked to the press, said Cardoso, Sao Paulo Gov. Mario Covas, Health Minister Jose Serra and deceased former Communications Minister Sergio Motta held $368 million in a Cayman Islands corporate account. The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said investigators went to the Cayman Islands and concluded the papers were a forgery.

GUNMEN KILL 11 PEOPLE IN NORTH COLOMBIA TOWN

BOGOTA, Colombia - A suspected right-wing squad killed at least 11 people in a pre-dawn attack Tuesday on a town in northern Colombia, authorities said. Police spokesmen said the attack, by about 40 heavily armed gunmen in combat fatigues, occurred in Villanueva in Guajira province. The 11 victims, most of whom were dragged out of their homes and shot execution-style in the street, included at least two boys between ages 11 and 15, a doctor at a Villanueva hospital said.

U.S. CLERGYMAN PRAISES CASTRO'S GOVERNMENT

HAVANA - A high-ranking U.S. clergyman Tuesday praised encouraging steps by Cuban President Fidel Castro's government since Pope John Paul II's visit in January and urged more changes from Washington and Havana. The Roman Catholic Cardinal of Boston, Bernard Law, also told foreign correspondents in Havana that he discussed Cuban affairs directly with Castro and other senior local leaders for three hours over dinner Monday night. He praised recent Cuban government measures relating to the church, such as the granting of permission to bring 40 more priests and religious workers from abroad.

BRAZILIAN BISHOP FACES CHARGES IN ROOF COLLAPSE

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Police charged an evangelical bishop with the involuntary manslaughter of 25 of his parishioners when a church roof collapsed during a service three months ago, a police spokeswoman said Tuesday. Bishop Reinaldo Suico of the Church of the Universal Kingdom of God is charged with neglecting to provide adequate emergency facilities and with failing to maintain his church. About 1,300 worshipers were packed inside the church in a Sao Paulo suburb when the roof came crashing down on Sept. 5, killing 25 people and injuring another 500.

COMMUNIST PARTY YOUTH MEET TO BOLSTER CASTRO

HAVANA - Young Cuban Communists began a three-day conference in Havana on Tuesday designed to bolster youthful support for President Fidel Castro's 39-year-old revolutionary government. Castro was present at the inauguration of the meeting of the Young Commun- ists' Union - the youth wing of the ruling Communist Party - attended by more than 1,500 delegates from across the country. Delegates were due to debate a central document, drafted by their leadership, examining recent events in Cuba, the state of their movement and their duties in the future.

THOUSANDS STILL ISOLATED AFTER HURRICANE MITCH

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Thousands of people are isolated in northeastern Honduras more than a month after Hurricane Mitch wiped out the area's roads and bridges, Roman Catholic and local leaders said Tuesday. The Rev. Nicolas Schiel said the church thought at least 15,000 people in 170 villages were in need of aid.